Isibeal Carolan "Izzy" Atkinson (born 17 July 2001) is an Irish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays for English

FA Women's Championship The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2). WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 d ...

club Crystal Palace and the Republic of Ireland national team. She previously played for Shelbourne in Ireland before joining

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

in 2021.

Club career

Atkinson played youth football for Rush Athletic and the Metropolitan Girls' League Academy, before spending three years with Enniskerry FC. She signed for Women's National League (WNL) club Shelbourne in July 2017. The

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

WNL season, delayed by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, began with Atkinson in excellent form for Shelbourne. Instead of occupying her usual position on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

, she had been repurposed as an attacking left-back. Her goal against

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was named Goal of the Month for August 2020. In February 2021, Atkinson signed for

Scottish Women's Premier League The Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) is the highest level of league competition in women's football in Scotland. Its two divisions are SWPL 1 and SWPL 2. The league was formed when the Premier Division of the Scottish Women's Football League ...

club

. She featured in Celtic's

2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 21st edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA, and the 13th edition since being rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League. It was the first edition to fe ...

matches, creating an equaliser against

FC Minsk FC Minsk ( be, ФК Мінск) is a professional football club based in Minsk, Belarus. They play in the Belarusian Premier League, the highest tier of Belarusian football. Their colours are red and navy blue. History The club was establishe ...

following a solo

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down the pitch. In May 2022 she scored an

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

winning goal in the

Scottish Women's Cup The Scottish Women's Cup is the national knockout cup competition for women's football in Scotland. First held in 1970–71, the competition is owned and managed by Scottish Women's Football (SWF), an affiliated body of the Scottish Football Assoc ...

final, as Celtic beat rivals Glasgow City 3–2. In July 2022, Atkinson and another young Irish player

Tyler Toland Tyler Toland (born 8 August 2001) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English Women's Super League club Blackburn Rovers. She previously played for Liga F club Levante UD, Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) clu ...

both left Celtic. Atkinson then joined English

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

club West Ham United later that month. In January 2024, FA Women's Championship side Crystal Palace announced they had signed Atkinson on a contract until 2025.

International career

In October 2017, Republic of Ireland national team coach Colin Bell named 16-year-old Atkinson in his squad for a FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying fixture in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. She won her first senior cap as a 90th-minute substitute for

Leanne Kiernan Leanne Kiernan (born 27 April 1999) is an Irish footballer who plays as a striker for Liverpool of the WSL and the Republic of Ireland. Early life Born in Bailieborough in County Cavan, Kiernan attended Bailieborough Community School, where ...

in a 3–1

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win over

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at the Estádio de São Miguel, Ponta Delgada, on 22 January 2018. Atkinson's first competitive appearance for Ireland was in a 1–0 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying defeat in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in June 2018. She was an 89th-minute substitute for

Áine O'Gorman Áine Marie O'Gorman (born 13 May 1989) is an Irish footballer who plays for Women's National League club Shamrock Rovers. At club level, O'Gorman began her senior career with Stella Maris, played for Peamount United and UCD Waves, and also s ...

and was shown the yellow card. She started her first match in a 1–0 friendly defeat by

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, staged in Murcia, Spain, on 20 January 2019. Atkinson was named in

Vera Pauw Vera Pauw (; born 18 January 1963) is a Dutch Women's association football, football coach and former player. She currently manages the Republic of Ireland women's national football team. She has managed several national women's football teams, i ...

's squad for the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to be the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the women's national association football teams organised ...

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Isibeal 2001 births Living people Republic of Ireland women's association footballers Republic of Ireland women's international footballers Women's association football forwards Women's National League (Ireland) players Shelbourne F.C. (women) players Association footballers from County Dublin Celtic F.C. Women players Crystal Palace F.C. (Women) players Expatriate women's footballers in Scotland Republic of Ireland expatriate women's association footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Scottish Women's Premier League players West Ham United F.C. Women players Women's Super League players Expatriate women's footballers in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in England 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players Irish LGBT footballers